Gregor's Choice Revised
by Arch1medes
Summary: Otherwise known as, "Gregor's Choice 2: Electric Bugalloo" Gregor gets pulled back into the Underland five years after he thought he'd never see it again. Things aren't as he left them, and he is faced with a choice that will question not only who he is, but who he will become after.
1. Chapter 1

Gregor had the sense of falling. He opened and closed his eyes, quickly realizing it was too dark to see. He turned all around, only feeling the wind rushing through his shaggy hair, and tried clicking, coughing, breathing... His echolocation failed. Still, the place had an uncertain air of familiarity to it, but Gregor couldn't figure out why. Then a scream pierced the air. Gregor flipped around towards the noise as best he could, expecting to see someone, but neither his eyes or ears could discern any objects. Another scream came from his left, but as he turned, there was another to his right. Then another scream, coming from behind him. Screams were quickly filling the surrounding area with the deafening noise. Gregor shoved his hands to his ears, curling up into a plummeting fetal ball, surrounded by terrified voices.

His hands barely insulated the anguished sounds of those around him; in fact, the screams were getting increasingly unbearable by the second. Just when he couldn't take it anymore, Gregor screamed, "Shut up!" at the voices. As if responding to his word, there was a sound; not of screaming like the rest, but of something more sickening and gruesome. Below him, there was a thud. One of the screams vanished along with it. Thud, thud, went another two screams. Soon, all around him, the screams were being cut off and being replaced by a thud. Gregor's anticipation grew. "What is this?" he thought. "What's going on?" He tried to scream, only this time, no noise came out.

Gregor fell for what felt like another hour, his anxiety growing with each passing moment. Just when Gregor thought his fall may never end, he hit something. The feeling of falling abruptly stopped, replaced with sense of rising. As he miraculously rose, his bearings slowly returned to him. Foggy at first, but definitely an improvement from before. He was riding Ares, his bond. He looked at the direction that they were headed, and an audible gasp escaped from him.

There was a group of dreary vagabonds at the mouth of a stone pit, which he and Ares where coasting down towards now. He recognized them immediately as Luxa, Ripred, Temp, Aurora, Boots, and his Dad. They were on the quest from The Prophecy of Gray. Ares landed on the cold stone, and went to stand by Aurora. Gregor began walking towards Luxa, who was crying?

"Luxa?" Gregor asked, putting his hands on her shoulders, trying to get her to look up at him. "Luxa talk to me! Tell me what's wrong!"

She looked up at him, her beautiful violet eyes contorted in a mixture of hurt, fear, and transgression. "Why?" she asked, the tone of her voice breaking Gregor's heart. "Why were you saved?"

Gregor looked at her, face expressing the true internal shock that was a result of what she had just said. "Luxa, what are you talking about?"

Before she had a chance to answer, his Dad spoke up. "Son, how could you leave me here like this?" Gregor's Dad asked, unimagineable pain in his voice as he gestured to himself and to the pit. "How could you let them torture me for two years?"

"Dad, I-"

"Let Tick, die, how could you, let Tick die?" cried Temp.

"Temp-" Gregor began.

They all let lose with questions. Horrible and torturous memories resurfaced in Gregor's mind; the battle against the ants, against the rats, and against the Bane.

"How could you let me die, Gregor?" asked Ares accusingly. "I thought we were bonds!"

Gregor turned to Ares, pleading. "I tried to save you! I tried Ares!"

The other members of the group grew silent, as if to spectate the debate.

"The prophecy asked for the warrior's death, not mine!" Ares argued.

Gregor fell to his knees in that moment. Ares' anger was truly justified. Gregor too had been wondering why he had not died in that cave instead of Ares. His bat was right, it was Gregor's death that the prophecy asked for, not anyone else's.

His friends questioning resumed again, having sensed an opportunity, and Gregor couldn't take it. Their questions pushed him back towards the cliff's edge, and they pursued him, bombarding him with increasingly worse accusations. Gregor took another step back and felt the edge of the cliff beneath the heel of one of his sandals. Their questions were being thrown at him with increasing volume, his friends' voices rising as if to drown out any other sound that might reach Gregor's ears other than their inquisition. Resisting as hard as he could, he tried to fight his way back from the edge. Slowly, he was beginning to move forward, letting their questions glance off of him. "This isn't real," he thought. "Just another dream." Again, as if his friends heard him, they all stopped speaking at once, to allow a voice to ring clearly in the hollow caves, "How could you leave?" His eyes darted to Luxa's, the content of her lavender eyes now solely a brand of broken sadness the Underland seemed to have in surplus. "How could you leave?"

Gregor's will to resist died at the sight. He didn't feel himself falling at first, but he could see him collapsing backwards, and then falling downward through that same hole in the ground, his sight framed by the mouth of the cliff. Gregor could barely make out the form at the edge of the cliff, which was joined by more. "So," Gregor thought. "They want to see it end."

Too his terror, he could see them following him off the edge, following him to his fate at the bottom of the pit. "No!" Gregor yelled. "No! Don't do it!" No matter what he said, he could hear screams again, this time, those of his friends. Yet again the tunnel defied physical convention, as Gregor could hear them getting closer, their fear more palpable.

"Please, please, stop." Gregor pleaded. Dream or not, this was too much.

He got his wish, but only after there were sounds of impact at the bottom of the pit.

Then there was quiet, and he was alone. Gregor exhaled a shaky breath, and like electricity his echolocation skills lit up the bottom of the pit in his mind's eye, rocketing towards him, not even giving him time to scream before he slammed into the bottom.

Gregor bolted upright in his bed, drenched in sweat from the terrifying nightmare he just had. This was not uncommon for him. For the past five years, he had been having nightmares of the sort, but even then, they were rarely this intense, or this real.

Gregor threw off his covers and made his way to the bathroom, which was a convenient five steps from his room. Wearing nothing but his boxers, Gregor looked into the mirror. "Huh" Gregor thought. "I'm a walking, talking record, aren't I?" It was true. He could map out his adventures in the Underland because of all the scars he had accumulated over the year he spent down there. There was no doubting that the Underland had left its mark on him.

"Gregor?" a voice Gregor recognized as Lizzie said threw the door. "Is that you?"

Gregor sighed, and opened the door a crack. "Yeah Liz, it's me. You can go back to bed." he said, softly. She nodded and sunk back to bed. Gregor was too tired to be upset at how worried he made his family sometimes. Even though they tried not to let on, they were scared he would leave them and escape to the Underland. Gregor hadn't told anyone in his family that he'd been having nightmares about the Underland except for Lizzie, and he had only found out because she was in the bathroom and heard him talking in his sleep once. Ever since then, Lizzie would try and check on Gregor anytime she thought he'd had a nightmare. Despite all of this, Gregor would be lying if he said escaping to the Underland had never crossed his mind.

The Underland had not been so eager to escape him either.

When Gregor had gotten back to the Overland, he had been in a stupor. For weeks, all he would think about was the Underland. When he reminisced, however, something nagged at him. It took him a while, but he found out what it was. He was just about to leave the docks of the Underland when Ripred had told him, "That isn't just going to go away; it's part of you." His rager side. Gregor realized how right Ripred had been, though he'd never admit it to the old rat.

Since then, Gregor had been monitoring the Warrior within himself. He found out within a few months that his rager side was getting starved of action, and that no amount of running, or working out could ever fully satisfy it. Although he hadn't intended it, Gregor allowed himself to get involved in altercations at school with bullies who tried to mess with Larry. This helped ease his desire to fight, and since he only acted in self defense, he wouldn't get in trouble with the office. Gregor made a point to never go on the offensive during such altercations; despite his proficiency in violence, he never thought it was the answer. As time went on, Gregor steadily learned more about the rager sensation, specifically the role emotions played in the intensity of the sensation. It didn't take Gregor long to determine that atop the hierarchy of what makes the sensation stronger was anger, which came in second only to love. Needless to say where his experience in love came from.

Gregor hadn't seen Luxa in five years; he missed her most of all. After a year of quests and deaths and revelations, they had confessed their feelings for each other. When he survived his fight with the Bane, Gregor had realized he really did love her.

"Her birthday is next week." Gregor said, somberly. Every year around this time, he considered getting her something for her birthday, as if to say, "I'm here, and I'm thinking about you." Despite having even gone out to buy something for her a couple times, Gregor could never go through with it. What if she had moved on? Gotten on with her life? If he sent her something and sent her spiraling back down to missing Gregor, he couldn't forgive himself. She had every right to move past that year and try to live as normal a life as one can when ruling a city miles beneath the surface of the Earth. Even then, he could still just be overstating her care for him, and could've moved on soon after he left, and Gregor could just be making up fantasies to make himself feel better about being stuck in the past. Gregor pushed the idea of a birthday present to the back burner for now. "Maybe next year." he thought.

With wanton hope for the future, Gregor went back to bed, and fell into a dreamless sleep.

Gregor awoke to the sound of his alarm clock. He fumbled around and shut it off. The thing was so loud and obnoxious. He lifted his head up from his pillow to look at the time, 6:50am. "Time to get ready."

Gregor rolled out of bed, leaving his sheets looking like a bomb had been dropped. He quickly showered and ate and got dressed. He was brushing his teeth, thinking about the homework he didn't do yet when Boots came up beside him to brush hers.

Stopping for a second, Gregor looked at his little sister. She was eight now, her golden curls more bright then ever. She had a shirt on that said, "Princess". Gregor saw it at the store last month and couldn't resist getting it for her. Boots looked up at him with the same brown eyes he had. "Gregor, what's wrong?" He snapped out of his little day dream and replied, "Nothing Boots. You're just getting big!" Boots looked at him sternly. "I am a big girl!" she said. Gregor held up his hands in defeat.

"You sure are, little one."

Five minutes and some accidentally discharged toothpaste later, Gregor and Boots were on their way to school. Lizzie was still sick with a cold, so she wouldn't be going with them. "Bye!" Boots said cheerfully. Both Gregor's Mom and Dad had already gone to work earlier that morning.

"I'll see you guys later, OK?" Lizzie said hoarsely. They waved goodbye as they walked out the door. After all these years, the hallway was still pretty bad. The white paint was starting to intermingle with a dust looking gray, and was peeling off the walls. One time, Gregor and his Dad were moving some furniture out of the apartment and the corner of a coffee table had hit the wall and taken a good chuck of paint off with it. When they finally got to the bottom of the stairs, Gregor kept himself from looking into the laundry room, a skill he'd mastered a long time ago.

It was a brisk morning in the Big Apple, and walking outside was like getting a brief breath of fresh air. Gregor and Boots made their way down the busy street, making their way for the subway station.

"Gregor, I'm cold." Boots complained, hugging his leg. He reached down and patted her head. "Don't worry little girl, we're almost there." It was the middle of September, so it was starting to get kind of cold. However, the subways were always warmer because of the amount of people that used them, so all they had to do was survive the walk until they were waiting for the train. Finally Gregor weaved through the dense crowd and down the stairs, and slightly warmer weather hit his face. He looked around at people's faces as they walked by before moving on. Gregor used his transit card, and got him and Boots onto the train. Gregor grabbed hold of one of the hanging handles in the middle of the aisle, and held onto Boots' hand with the other. When the train started to move, Gregor couldn't help but look around him, and fight to conceal a scoff. Despite how long it had been, Gregor still found it amusing that people had no idea what was beneath their feet.

Thankfully, it was only a one stop ride to the schools, just enough time to stop Gregor before he got caught up in his thoughts. Gregor grabbed Boots' hand and tugged her along to the elementary school, about a block away from the station. He dropped her off in the little playground out front and started moving towards school. Gregor didn't make any new real friends since the Underland. Everyone except Larry and Angelina just avoided him. Some were even scared of him. When he walked by kids being bullied, the bullies would stop and back off, probably because of what happened two years ago.

It was a bright spring day; school had just started up again. The weather was nice enough to wear shorts and a shirt, but because of his scars, Gregor wore a long sleeve shirt and jeans like always. Larry and Angelina were the only ones who knew about his scars, although they didn't know how he got them. The school gang leader, Jason Braq, a tall and particularly overweight guy, with black haired and chubby hands, was out of kids to bully since his last object of focus switched schools. Naturally, he would turn to the weird kid that always wears long sleeved shirts and jeans, never showing any skin. He and his three friends had stopped him from picking up Boots at the end of school one day.

"Hey there, freak." Jason sneered. "It sure is nice out today, don't you think?"

"Nah," Gregor replied. "Still kind of cold to me." Jason's smile faded a bit.

"No one likes a smart-ass, kid." Gregor leaned back, a crowd starting to grow, sensing the oncoming fight. "No one likes a bully either," Gregor retorted. "Or did you not get the memo?" A round of "ooh" rose from the growing crowd of bystanders. Jason looked around, eyes enraged. Gregor was stealing his spotlight. "That's it kid. You asked for it." Jason said, getting into an attack position, his friends following suit.

Gregor concealed a wry smile at their decisions. "Four on one?" Gregor turned serious, his tone cool. "But I think I'll pass." This time it was Jason's turn to smile. "Where is the big talk now?" Jason snickered. The crowd laughed a little. However, this wasn't good enough for Jason. "Where are your friends? Oh wait, no sign of loser Larry?" He and his friends were howling with laughter along with some of the crowd. Jason looked him in the eyes. "Where are your imaginary friends at, Greg? Don't tell me they're all dead?"

Gregor felt something snap inside of him. Within a second, Jason was slammed into the wall behind him, clearly dazed. Everyone followed back to Gregor, whose leg was out from kicking Jason. He set down his leg and looked around. "What?" he asked simply as if nothing had happened. "He talked too much." Still, he just received wide eyed stairs. Finally a familiar voice came in and broke up the crowd. "Come on! Go home! Nothing to see here! Shoo!" Larry made gestures with his hands emphasizing his words. The crowd slowly trickled away, as did Gregor, at least he tried to, but not before a hand grabbed his arm.

"Gregor," a soft, feminine voice said. "Are you alright?" Gregor turned to see Angelina. He could tell just by her eyes that she was worried about him. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about his feelings right now. Gregor smiled the most fake smile in history so he could utter his next words convincingly enough. "Yeah of course! Someone had to put a stop to him." Gregor said, gesturing to Jason, who was still trying to count the number of fingers on his fat hands. Angelina stared at him, followed by Larry. "Are you sure man?" Larry asked. "How do you even know how to do that?"

"I took a self defense class." Gregor replied.

Gregor came back to real time. He was on autopilot, getting things from his locker. Looking around, Gregor saw no one. Just the same old dingy hallway with fading red lockers. He sighed and headed off to his homeroom. He had Mr.. Provis, the AP Economics teacher with Angelina, to Gregor's relief. He was so not a fan of having classes without at least one of his friends. Right before he entered the classroom, Gregor heard someone come his way via echolocation. Moments later, Gregor felt a hand clasping around his shoulder. Pretending to be startled, he jumped away, doing a little spin to face the person.

Larry looked at him, a smile forming on his face. Larry had jet black hair, which was the same length as Gregor's shaggy hair do. They were about the same height, Larry was maybe an inch taller. Larry had asthma, but that didn't stop him from spending most of his time at a gym, leaving him in pretty good shape. Loser Larry was no more. "So this is how I get treated after how many years?" Larry asked, stifling a laugh.

"Sorry man." Gregor started.

"Don't worry about it." Larry interrupted. "I need to talk to you about something quick."

Gregor's brow furrowed. It was rare that Larry talk to him so. His tone was soft, with a hint of shyness. "Yeah sure man, what is it?" Larry shifted his feet, trying to speak his mind.

"Well, you see... I... well " Larry stammered.

"You what?" Gregor pushed, wanting to hear what his friend had to say.

"I think I kind of like Angelina."


	2. Chapter 2

Gregor stood in the hall, looking at Larry, not sure what to make of the new information.

"What?" Gregor stammered. Larry looked sheepishly at his toes, turning a light red as he did so.

"I said I… like... Angie." Larry responded. Gregor still just stared, some genuine surprise starting to surface. "Like as in like, or just like like?" Gregor asked.

Larry looked up at Gregor, specks of mild impatience visible in his eyes.

"So, what do you think?" Larry asked nonchalantly lounging on his heels.

"I think that's…great!" Gregor said. "I'm just wondering why you decided to tell me now?"

As if on cue, the bell rung, reminding Gregor he had to get to class.

Larry held on to Gregor's shoulders, trying hard so send his good intentions Gregor's way.

"Gregor, I need your help with this." Larry pleaded his eyes staring deep into Gregor's, searching for a sense of empathy. Gregor thought it over. Larry and Angelina had been a huge part of a return to normalcy for Gregor after his return to the Overland, or at least the vestiges of normalcy. He considered them his friends, and he liked them, just not in the same way he did with his Underland friends. Still, they hadn't even pressured him too much with questions about his disappearances. All in all, they were his friends, even if they didn't fight in a war together.

"Fine, Larry, I'll help you. But that's not a guarantee for anything outside of trying." Gregor said. "You know I'm not good with these things."

Larry exhaled a smile, squeezing his best friend's shoulder. "Thank you, Gregor. I was thinking about taking her out for her birth-" Larry got cut off by the late bell. "I'll tell you the rest later!" Larry exclaimed.

Gregor nodded. "I'll talk to you later, Larry." The two friends departed and went to class. Gregor thought a bit more about Larry and Angelina. If they dated and broke up, what would it do to his friend group? Despite the possible downsides, Gregor couldn't help but smile a little bit, at the prospect of them being together. "They both deserve to be happy," Gregor thought, his focus slowly trailing back into Luxa's upcoming birthday. It had been five long years; any number of things could have happened in that amount of time. Luxa could even have a... Gregor stopped in his tracks for a second, before remembering he was going to be late for class. Again, he threw all thoughts about Luxa to the back of his mind, although, by the time he got to the door of his class, he was trying not to think of Luxa with someone else. The notion made the rager in him bubble like boiling oil, slowly filling him the more he imagined. With a grip on the door handle entirely to tight, Gregor stepped into his AP Econ class.

After being late to class a few times, Gregor started to try to be early, even if he was early just a minute. Every time he was late, he would open the door to reveal everyone's eyes trained on him, including a less than ecstatic teacher's, and today was no different. Gregor walked in, silencing whatever speech had been going on before. He half looked, half glared out over the class, receiving eyes of all emotions; understanding, sad, bored, mischievous, and bemused eyes. Finding Angelina's deep blue eyes, Gregor sheathed his glare, and looked toward his teacher. Mr. Provis approached his challenged student, sighing and shaking his head. Gregor really hated being late to this class, because he liked Mr. Provis. Richard Provis was a man of decent height, gray hair and a tanned face, with smile lines around his eyes. He was one of the only people who treated Gregor other than a freak and did not just tolerate him.

"Gregor, must we do this every week? I thought I asked you to try and stop."

"Yes sir." Gregor replied somewhat sadly.

"I will let you off this time, my boy. But don't be late again for the rest of this month. Ok?" Gregor nodded. Mr. Provis smiled, clapping Gregor on the back. "Ok then, Gregor. Get to your seat and I can resume the lecture." Gregor walked over to the seat, weaving in and out of people who tried to trip him as he passed. He took his seat at the back next to Angelina, relaxing in his chair. Angelina just looked at him curiously. Gregor examined his friend; she had somewhat bright blonde hair, fair skin with no blemishes, and was wearing a pink blouse with a short skirt. Gregor thought back all of those years to when he first met Angelina and Larry, back in Elementary School. Things were so easy back then…

Gregor's daydream was interrupted when he noticed a movement in the corner of his eye, and saw a note lying in front of him. Gregor looked over to Angelina, head in her hands as she pretended to pay attention to the lecture. Smiling at his friend's covertness, he eyed Mr. Provis before looking down to read the note. In rounded pink highlighter, it read, "Why were you late today?" Gregor grabbed a pen and wrote, "Just talking' with Larry. We got a little carried away." He refolded the note and slid it back over to Angelina, eyes still up at the front of the classroom. Mr. Provis was talking about a guy named Adam something, who had theorized about moral sentimentality. He felt something poke his arm, and saw the note. Opening it up again, he read, "'Bout what?"

"I asked him some advice on girls." Gregor replied, sliding the note back to Angelina.

Their conversation helped time go by faster, and without feeling like he lost a significant part of his life, the bell rang, and Gregor and Angelina walked out of class. Turning around to meet him, Angelina smiled and said, "So tonight at eight?" Gregor nodded, mildly surprised from his plans for the evening. He just nodded and couldn't stop a rogue smile from escaping his generally expressionless face. Angelina smiled back and squeezed his hand before walking off.

After a long, unnecessary afternoon of classes, Gregor opened his apartment door and was greeted to the smell of pot roast steaming. "Welcome home!" he heard his Dad yell from the kitchen. Boots came scampering out of her and Lizzie's room, and hugged his leg. "How was school today?" Gregor asked her.

"We worked on decimals today." Boots replied, too enthusiastic to have been dealing with decimals.

"Is Mom home yet?" Gregor asked Boots.

"No, she's still at work." said Boots. "She said she'd be home by five."

"Okay, thanks big girl." Gregor said, messing up her hair. Boots giggled, and ran back into her room, no doubt to continue the ongoing tea party she had laid out with her stuffed animals.

Gregor walked over to the kitchen, to see his dad adding some jalapenos to the pot roast.

"Need a hand with anything?" asked Gregor.

"No, I've got this under control." his dad replied. The years out of the Underland had done well for Gregor's father, who actually resembled the man Gregor knew before the disappearance.

"Why don't you go take it easy for a bit? Looks like you had a long day."

Gregor nodded. "And it's not quite over yet either. I'm going out shopping tonight."

"With whom?" his dad asked, getting cilantro out of the fridge.

"Angelina. She's helping me find a birthday present for a friend." Gregor replied carefully. The last thing he needed was to water the seeds of doubt that were no doubt still entrenched in his Dad's mind.

"Okay," Gregor heard his father reply with the rhythmic sound of the knife hitting the cutting board. "Just be sure to be back home before 1:00am."

"Will do Dad." Gregor said, thankfully. "Pot roast smells good by the way." he commented as he exited the kitchen.

Gregor followed his Dad's advice and sank into the couch. Turning on the news for some background noise, Gregor took the note from his earlier conversation with Angelina out from his pocket, and unfolded the paper, wanting to read it over again to remember exactly how she had convinced him to meet her that night.

"Girl troubles? With who? Do I know her?" Angelina had asked.

"No, she goes to a different school."

"So what are the troubles?" Angelina prodded. Gregor remembered taking the chance out of incorrigible indecision.

"I haven't talked to her in a long time, and her birthday is next week. I can't stop thinking about her."

"Oh. Well, you're going to get her something right?"

"I don't know. What if she's into someone else and I complicate things?" Gregor asked.

"You should get her something! Besides, if she's got you like this, it seems like you already made up your mind." Angelina observed.

"I don't even know what she likes anymore. What would I get her?" asked Gregor.

"Well, if you want, I can help you pick something out for her. Maybe all you need is a girl's touch." Angelina responded.

Gregor smirked, standing up off the couch. Some part of his mind kept nagging him that this was a terrible idea, but all of his will to listen to this instinct went away when his excuses not to were systematically disproven by Angelina.

Gregor pulled himself off the couch and went into his broom closet of a room, depositing the note in his top dresser drawer. He looked at his "room" thinking of the Underland, and its large open grandeur. Sighing, he reclined on his bed, thinking about all of his friends he left down there. Howard, Hazard, Vikus, Mareth, Ripred, Temp, Aurora, Luxa. Are they all still alive? Are they in danger? At War? Gregor knew the Underland could swallow them up at any moment without warning, and here he was, worrying about a birthday present. Staring up at his ceiling, Gregor tried to console his worry, but he knew better to underestimate the Underland's ability change at a moment's notice. It was with that hard learned lesson that Gregor drifted off to sleep.

A shrill alarm interrupted Gregor's dreamless sleep.

Gregor opened one bleary eye to see 7:30 in red LED. Gregor bolted up out of bed and flew towards his bathroom. Ripping off his clothes and adjusting to the cold shower water, he scrubbed his hair until his scalp was raw, and then his torso so much it practically sparkled. Hurrying to dry himself, Gregor caught himself in the mirror. Standing at 5'11'' and 157 pounds, he was in the best shape of his life. Defined muscles rippled their way around his arms, chest and legs, a combination of fighting and lifting weights at school. Ruining what would have been a stunning physique were scars from squids, poisonous plants, and rats, most notably the Bane. There wasn't a day that went by when he didn't relive those scars.

"Gregor!" Lizzie's congested call jarred Gregor back to reality. She still had that cold, and it was getting to where she could breathe through her nose, preventing her from speaking clearly.

"What is it?" Gregor asked, wrapping the towel around his waist.

"I need to use the bathroom!" Lizzie replied. Gregor grabbed all his clothes and a few toiletries and left the bathroom. Lizzie was in her pink My Little Pony pajamas. Her tiny nose was all red from the cold, and she breathed in ragged breaths. The addition of her curly brown hair being greasy and plastered across her face made her look like a mess.

"Lizzie, sleep helps with colds." He said matter-of-factly. Lizzie just stood there and crossed her arms. Her attempts at being patient evident in her expression.

"Just go and get dressed." She shut the door to the bathroom with a small slam. Gregor held his hands up in a mock defeat, smiling. "Kids these days!" He laughed. Then remembering he was in a hurry, he rushed into his room and got dressed and cleaned up. He was in the kitchen brushing his teeth when Lizzie finally came out of the bathroom, trudging to her room. "What took you so long?" he asked. She turned around and looked at him, eyes too tired to care. Pulling down one eye socket and made a face before disappearing behind the door frame.

Within fifteen minutes, Gregor was stopped outside of Angelina's place to catch his breath; he had to sprint the last three blocks so he could be on time. Recovering, he walked up the steps and buzzed to her house. Almost instantly he heard, "Gregor, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. You ready?" There was silence for a few seconds.

"…No, but why don't you come up? I won't be too long." There was a buzz and the door opened.

"Guess I'm going upstairs." Gregor thought.

He quickly jogged up the staircase to the third floor. Angelina invited Larry and Gregor over a few times when they were younger, and he had emblazoned the place into his memory.

"Third floor, Suite 312." he thought.

Gregor took a moment to collect himself and redo his hair before he went in. Stepping up to the old door, Gregor took the medal ring and smacked it against itself creating the knocking sound. There was some scuffling and a wet Angelina came to the door, wet hair sticking to her face, and holding a towel around herself. She smiled when she saw him, her white teeth nearly blinding the boy. "Hey Gregor! Sorry about this." She gestured to herself. "Come on in!" She spun on her heel and Gregor followed, somewhat hypnotized by her. Gently shutting the door behind him, he stood sheepishly by it, his back to Angelina, he blushed knowing that she was naked behind him.

"Gregor, is something wrong?" She asked innocently.

"Could you put some clothes on?" Gregor exclaimed. His face was as red as a tomato with his eyes clamped shut, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. Sure, he could kill better than 99% of everyone else on the planet, but the prospect of his longtime friend with just a towel on bothered him.

"Oh." Angelina said as her voice fell. Gregor noticed this, and slowly turned around, making sure she had her towel on still.

"What is it?" he asked, somewhat concerned. Her face was slightly red and she was looking at the floor beside her.

"You aren't curious?" She asked. Looking up and staring him in the eyes. He looked down on her, surprised by her question.

"No! It's not that! It's just that…" Gregor stammered. How should he say this…

"Oh, it's her, isn't it?" Angelina said. "The one you wanted to get a gift for?"

Gregor looked away, embarrassed. You could mistake him for a scarlet bust right about now.

"Well, yeah."

Angelina sighed. "Gregor…" She stopped.

Gregor stooped down a bit, so they were eye to eye.

"Angelina, you are a beautiful, smart, sweet girl, and don't you let anyone ever tell you different. Promise?" Angelina was blushing at his proximity to her, and for what he just said.

"I promise." Gregor smiled and backed up, completely missing the fact that they were about an inch or two away from kissing.

"Alright now go and get dressed, we only have two hours to scour Manhattan."

When Angelina was finally finished, and the pair were strolling arm and arm through Times Square, looking at all the stores along the way. They went into a few department stores already, but Angelina didn't find anything she thought was suitable for a gift. Finally, they found a little jewelry store on 47th Street and started looking at necklaces. Actually, it was just Angelina looking at necklaces, and Gregor just observed and tried to stay out of her way. After fifteen minutes, Angelina narrowed it down to three. "Actually, never mind about this one." Angelina said, placing it back on the rack where she found it. Gregor analyzed the remaining necklaces. One had a medium gold chain and a small heart locket on the end, and the other was a thin silver chain with a rectangular piece of amethyst on the end. It was a no brainer.

"She'll like the silver one better." Gregor decided. Angelina nodded and regretfully put the other necklace back on the shelf, and handed Gregor the other one.

"Come on, Gregor aren't you going to get it?" Angelina asked, confused. Gregor was jarred out of his daydream and nodded back to her. I'll meet you there in a bit. I want to see if they do engravings." She nodded and shuffled over to the counter. Gregor checked to make sure she was looking away, and then snatched the gold necklace away from the rack. She had been an invaluable help that night, she deserved to have the necklace.

Gregor walked up to Angelina and waited in line. Within about thirty seconds, the duo was checking out. Gregor wanted the necklace to be a surprise, so he asked Angelina to check his phone for updates while he was checking out. She agreed, and sat on a bench by the door. Exhaling with relief, he bought the two necklaces. They were walking home together when Gregor stopped Angelina as they were about to enter Central Park. Looking Angelina in the eye, he said, "Angelina, thanks for helping me out today. I couldn't have done it without you, so I want you to have this." He opened his hand and there was the necklace she had fawned over at the store.

Her eyes opened wide in surprise, revealing her breathtaking blue eyes. Angelina covered her mouth with her hand as she took the necklace. After a few seconds, Gregor made a motion of putting the necklace around her neck; Angelina nodded, still a bit surprised at what Gregor did for her. He laid the necklace around her neck, and it settled perfectly, right above her chest. "Oh my God, Gregor tha—" There was a rustling in the bushes and Larry fell out, coughing and gasping for air.

"Larry?" The pair exclaimed. Their friend just sat there gasping, as if there wasn't enough air in the world satisfy him. Larry regained his composure, standing up and looking over the two.

"I only have one thing to say." Larry said. Larry wound up his fist, preparing to send it directly at Gregor's jaw. Gregor's vision splintered in a familiar instinct, and resisted the urge to punch Larry straight in the throat. Instead, he brought his right arm across his body redirecting Larry's punch, which sent Larry on stumbling after his fist.

"What the hell are you doing, Larry?" Gregor asked, his tone losing patience by the second. Larry stalked toward him, stopping less than a yard away.

"You know _exactly_ what that was for!" Larry retorted. "I ask you for help, and this," He threw his hand up, suggesting their current predicament.

"This is how you 'help' me? You were supposed to be my friend! Someone I could trust!" Angelina rushed forward, grabbing Larry by the arm, holding him back.

"Help you with what?" She pleaded. Larry blushed at the mention of his secret crush.

"Larry, I just needed her help getting a gift." Gregor said, revealing the other necklace.

"That's all, man! I wouldn't do that to you." Larry looked between the two, and slowly calmed down.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Larry said. "Friends?" he offered, sticking out his hand. Gregor nodded and smiled.

"Always." Then, everything was right in their world again, the three friends back to happiness and a good night. But for Gregor, happiness never lasts for long. Just as they were walking away, a shadowy creature snuck up from behind. He lashed out his tail, sweeping the trio all off their feet. As he towered over them, a flash of recognition ran over Gregor's face. "Hello, Warrior." Ripred said, curling back his lips to reveal his gruesome smile and razor sharp teeth. "Long time no see."


	3. Chapter 3

Ripred stood over them, smirking malevolently. After a few seconds of surprise, Gregor came back to his senses. Turning to his friends, whose screams he could see building up, he said, "Don't freak out."

Gregor turned back to his fellow rager. "What are you doing here, Ripred?" he asked cautiously.

The rat sank to the ground upon hearing his name. "Wow, that's the greeting I get after all these years?" Stretching out on the ground, the rat began to groom his fur, as if their situation was casual.

"No, 'Hey Ripred! It's been so long! How have you been'?" the rat said, imitating Gregor's accent. Snorting, he continued.

"And you're not even going to introduce me to your friends?" The rat looked at the two strangers before him. He lifted his muzzle at Larry and Angelina. "Who are they?"

"Who the hell are you?" Ripred looked over to Angelina, who trembled a little bit, but held Ripred's interrogative gaze. Standing up to Ripred so quickly earned her points for bravery in Gregor's book.

Ripred yawned in trademark laziness.

"Other than a giant, talking rat?" he questioned, almost existentially. Angelina shuffled her feet.

"Well then, I am your friend's teacher, mentor," Ripred said, putting his arm around Gregor. "Some would even say his first love."

This time, it was Larry's turn. His voice quivering, "M-Mentor in w-what?" Larry was starting to hyperventilate again. On top of his asthma, he was just a naturally nervous person, leading him to a slew of breathing problems.

Ripred looked over at Gregor in an annoyed tone. "You really didn't tell them anything?" he sighed. "I thought you would've let out a peep at least… this will take a lot longer than I thought then…"

Ripred began to pace, in such an abrupt way, the trio didn't dare interrupt. After about thirty seconds of mumbling and turning on his heels, Ripred stopped and smiled. This wasn't any smile though. It was a devious smile, a maniacal smile, one that made your spine shiver.

"So," Ripred breathed. "You want to know who your friend really is?" Gregor felt Angelina's hand slip into his.

"What is he talking about, Gregor?" She said, tears forming in her eyes. Gregor looked away. "You'll find out soon." Gregor stood up, getting Angelina to release his hand.

Ripred held his paws up in feigned relief. "Good. Not like we have _all_ the time in the world." They were just about to go, when Gregor spun around and punched Ripred in the face. The blow had done next to no damage, but Ripred couldn't evade it completely. He snarled at Gregor in annoyance. "I suggest you don't try that again."

"You have some nerve! What makes you think the second we get back to Regalia I won't kill you? You show up here, scare my friends, want me to leave my family, and don't tell me why?

"Do you really want to stay and discuss this here? Now let's go!" Ripred crossed to the boulder, and pushed it aside. Ripred jumped into the cavern, and took off. Gregor went in next. He looked back at his friends, who seemed paralyzed. His eyes softened. "You don't have to come." Angelina wiped the tears off her eyes. "No, we do. You're our friend. We can help you, Gregor." Larry just nodded.

Gregor shook his head. "You have no idea what you're getting into. Stay here."

"If you think that after seeing that," Larry gestured awkwardly with his hands. "that we can just go back home and watch Netflix, you're out of your mind."

"There's nothing you could say to stop us, Gregor." Angelina said, trying to hold Gregor's gaze.

Gregor sighed. He was exhausted from lying all these years, no one outside of his family knowing who he was, _what_ he was; all he could do was try and rationalize enabling their passage down the rabbit hole.

"Fine." He said. If anything, he could protect them, or at least have Ripred sneak them out. By the way things were going, the rat was going to owe Gregor a few favors by the time this was over.

"Let's go."

After a long run through dark, twisting caverns, they managed to catch up to Ripred, who'd been impatiently cracking his tail in agitation. "Great, the cavalry is here." He said, familiar loathing echoing through the tunnel. Gregor didn't even dignify Ripred with a response, and motioned to his friends.

"It's not far now."

Gregor managed to navigate them to Regalia. He stopped them about two minutes away to try and prep them for what they were about to see. Both Larry and Angelina were a little winded from the run anyways.

"There are things I need to attend to." Ripred said, his register different from earlier. "Make your rounds, and we'll talk later." With a flash of his tail, Ripred was gone.

"Come over here you guys." Gregor said, pointing to a shelf of rock large enough for them to sit on. Larry and Angelina gratefully sat down while Gregor just leaned against the wall next to them. "Gregor," Angelina asked between breaths. "What is this place? It's enormous!" Gregor waved his hand out across the area. "Welcome to the Underland." Larry looked a little quizzical.

"The Underland?" he asked. Gregor nodded.

"Yeah, that's what the inhabitants call it." Both Larry and Angelina looked to him at this.

"Inhabitants?" Larry asked. Gregor nodded.

"Yeah, there are people that live down here." Before either of his friends could answer, he said, "Not all of them are like Ripred; you'll see in a bit." Gregor began to walk down the tunnel.

Larry and Angelina scrambled to get close to him, afraid of who else they might discover in the large expanse of dark caverns and tunnels. After a short walk, the trio made it to the mouth of Regalia. Before entering, Gregor pulled them aside. "Just follow my lead." They nodded in consent, and Gregor led them into the arena.

Just like when Gregor had first arrived, there was a ball game going on. There was commotion from both the audience and from Gregor's friends. The acrobatic game slowly came to a standstill. Gregor looked around; scanning the crowd for anyone he might know. He sensed a scared feeling from behind him, he looked around to find his friends terrified. Approaching them, he smiled. "Don't worry, you guys. They won't hurt you." As if to prove him wrong, a deep voice rang out. "Guards!"

Gregor turned around, seeing heavily armored Regalians surround him and his friends. A vibrantly dressed Underlander jumped off his silver bat, landing about ten feet from Gregor. The figure was tall; he wore a red cape, and black Underland robes. His face had hard features, and a crescent shaped scar was under his left eye.

"Who dares trespass into the Arena of Regalia? Identify yourself!" His voice ordered. Gregor, after arguing with Ripred, was not the mood to be bossed around. Leaning back and crossing his muscular arms across his chest, he retaliated, "Where I'm from, we say please when asking for something." He felt a hand on his shoulder. Glancing back, he saw it was Larry.

"Larry, buddy, now's not a very good time."

"Gregor, they have _swords_."

"I know, now just be quiet for a bit, okay?"

Gregor returned his attention back to the flamboyant Underlander. Boy, he did not look happy! His face was contorted in anger, and he was gripping the sword at his side. "How dare you-" Gregor's hand caught him in the throat and slammed him into the ground. His other hand ripped the sword from his scabbard and stuck it to the man's chest. "No," Gregor growled. "How dare you disrespect me? Now I want you to do something for me." The man must have realized his utterly hopeless situation.

"What?" The guard grumbled. Gregor smiled a devilish smile.

"I want you to stand up and order your guards to stand down." The man looked incredulous.

Gregor stabbed the sword into the man's chest enough to break the skin. "Yes, I do dare. Now DO IT!" Gregor bellowed. The man gulped, and yelled in a voice half as deep then before. "Stand down!"

The guards looked around in serious confusion. After a few seconds, the guards went back to where they came from. Gregor smiled at the turmoil. "Get up." He told the man. The man slowly got back to his feet. "Good," Gregor said. "Now walk over to my friends." The man slowly approached Larry and Angelina. "Bow and say you're sorry." The man begrudgingly got to his knees and said, "I apologize." The two were still scared, but felt better after seeing Gregor take down the lead guard.

"Now get another sword." The man did as told; Gregor felt his rager senses controlling him. The funny thing was, though, he didn't care. Gregor felt on top of the world, and wasn't about to lose this euphoria so soon. Returning with the sword, the man came at Gregor. Sighing, Gregor closed his eyes. In one swift movement Gregor threw his sword up in the air, grabbed the man's wrist with his right hand, and stabbed a knee into the guard's chest, probably crushing a rib or two. The man fell to the ground in agony, coughing up blood. Gregor stuck his hand out in time to catch the sword, which would've impaled the man had it fallen.

There was utter silence. Gregor observed a frown on his face. Then something made a sound. A laugh. From Gregor. It was a sadistic laugh, one that was not him. Realizing what he just did, Gregor clasped a hand over his mouth. Why had he found that funny?

" _My rager sense"_ _._ Gregor thought. _"_ _It's been waiting for this"_ _._ Gregor took a few deep breaths, calming himself, pushing the rager half of him back.

Gregor was just about to begin speaking again, when a flash of gold lit up the arena. A split second later, Gregor was airborne. He managed to land on his feet, but was still surprised. Standing in front of him, was a girl. Flowing blonde and silver hair ended at her waist. A gold band was pushed up on her head, looking heavy. The girl was athletically fit, and after five years, looked more like a queen than ever. He spent barely any time on this, as he was absorbed in her eyes, a silken violet; arrogant, but there was kindness behind them if you searched.

"Luxa," Gregor gasped, barely audible. He reached out a hand to her, but before he could move, something hit him in the back of the head and he fell to the ground hard. Things were blurry, moving in and out of clarity. A furry form glided into his vision, picking him up. "Be quiet, boy." Ripred whispered in his ear. "Just play along. They don't know who you are yet." Gregor mumbled affirmative before blacking out.

(Angelina)

Angelina watched as Gregor fought the guards, going ballistic on the leader. "Gregor," She whispered. Ever since they were little, Gregor had always been a peaceful guy, sturdy even. That's one of the things she really liked about him. Now seeing him fight so viciously and without mercy, it scared her more than that rat, Ripred, or the enormous bats in the arena. To Angelina, Gregor had always been a guy that tried to work things out peacefully. She was just about to yell at him to stop; stop this meaningless fighting.

Before she could, however, a silver haired girl dropped from a golden bat, stopping Gregor in his tracks. The girl was beautiful; her flowing silver hair and purple eyes were a killing combination. Angelina was actually kind of jealous of the girl.

Out of nowhere, something grabbed her and pulled her around the corner of the entrance. "Ok now, it's just me." She looked behind her and saw Ripred was the one detaining her, and Larry too as she realized. He removed his paws from their mouths and they gasped for air. "What was that for?" Larry said, or tried to. He was coughing heavily from lack of air. Ripred smacked Larry with his paw, and it somehow restored his breathing. "Now, listen, you too." Ripred began. "There's something I need you to do."

(Gregor)

Gregor woke up, groaning. Man, his head hurt! Looking around and finding nothing, Gregor resorted to echolocation. With a jolt, he realized he was in the same dungeon Solovet had put him in all those years ago.

 _WHAT'S YOUR PLAN?_

Ripred's voice rang through his head. Gregor scooted back until he was against a wall. " _What is my plan?"_ He thought. In the Overland, Gregor had added a few steps onto Ripred's original advice to make it more effective. _"_ _What do I know?"_ Gregor asked himself.

Then he remembered what Ripred had told him before he blacked out. _"Just play along, they don't know who you are yet."_

Gregor hung his head in sadness. Did they really forget about him? Even Luxa? That thought stabbed him in the heart. After going through all of that; fighting King Gorger, finding the baby Bane, searching for the plague cure and finding Luxa. Then there was their ill-fated picnic where he and Luxa had finally gotten closer. His short, yet amazing time with Luxa in the museum, and their kiss. His faux death and fight with the Bane. Could they really just forget about him?

Suddenly, there was mumbling outside. _Arguing_ _,_ Gregor realized. After a few more seconds, a clicking noise sounded and the door slowly slid open. A slumped over figure stood in the frame. After his eyes adjusted to the torchlight, Gregor gasped at who it was.

"Gregor," Vikus said. "I am really sorry we had to meet again under such sad circumstances." Gregor sat where he was, taking the old man in.

The left side of his face had sunken down a bit as a result of his stroke, and his back had started to give out. When he spoke his voice shook, as if unsure. Vikus' hair had grown longer, but there were parts missing.

Gregor bit his lip, trying to remain strong. It killed him inside to see Vikus like this. However, what Ripred said took precedence; the rat must have a plan in place.

"As am I." Gregor said, standing up. "I assume you want me to come with you?" Vikus nodded and sighed. "There is someone that wishes to speak with you." Gregor raised an eyebrow in question. "May I ask?" Vikus smiled a very weak smile.

"Our Queen."

Gregor walked in a trance up to Luxa's private quarters. _"Does she know it's me, too?_ He thought. They turned the corner, and it was in site. Gregor grew exponentially nervous with every step he took towards the doorway. Vikus and the guards stopped in front of the doorway.

"Luxa waits." Vikus said, walking off. The guards remained, flanking either side of the doorway. With a deep breath, Gregor stepped into Luxa's room.

Regalian royalty had always been extravagant in the year that Gregor had visited, but the standards now blew those out of the water. Fancy drapes lined small windows; lavish couches surrounded what looked like a fireplace. A balcony overlooked the city and all its wonder. A voice came from a room off from the balcony. "These days, there are very few fighters with as much talent as you." Gregor looked over and saw Luxa.

She was dressed in what looked like a silk nightgown; silver hair pulled back in a ponytail, and violet eyes as stunning as ever. Luxa crossed over to what looked like a small bar, taking out two glasses and a tall bottle of dark liquid. Pouring it into the glasses so they were about half full, she returned the bottle to its original place.

"To take a head guard and humiliate him as you did," Luxa shook her head in shame. "We need to retrain." Walking over to a couch, she sat down and laid the glasses on the table in the center.

"Sit." She told him. Gregor hesitantly walked over to the couch, afraid. Luxa wasn't stupid; you don't take a public enemy and treat him to drinks with your leader. Luxa was a capable fighter, but, as a rager, he could win against her, easy. There was no doubt she was scheming; what she was scheming, now that was the question.

"I suppose you wonder why I do this." Luxa said. "Would you like me to explain?" Gregor cautiously nodded. "Right now," Luxa explained. "Regalia is on the precipice of war. My intelligence network report the Cutters have decided the time has come to annihilate the humans." Luxa leaned back and took a sip of her drink.

"We still suffer from The War of Time, five years ago." Luxa looked down, seemingly sad.

"Frustratingly, the personnel resources we have are not the same. It took a year, but an Overlander gained my trust. He is known as the Warrior to us." Luxa continued, wistfully.

"I was twelve at the time, but I felt closer to him than I did anyone else. After killing the Bane, he left. Gregor was his name." A single tear tried to slide down Luxa's cheek reminiscing Gregor's departure from the Underland, but she fought it off.

At this point, Gregor wanted nothing more than to tell Luxa who he was; the only thing stopping him was Ripred's words to him in the arena earlier. Biting his lip, Gregor continued to listen in silent agony.

"I still have Ripred, my bond and the best fighter in all the Underland. However, I fear that is not enough." Luxa turned to him.

"You do not like your drink?" Gregor took the drink in his hands and took a sip.

" _Whiskey"_ _._ Gregor thought. Thankfully, his dad let him take sips because Gregor was barely able to hold it down as it was. Swallowing, he set the cup back down on the table. Luxa also took a sip, then another.

"What I summoned you here for, is to ask your assistance against the Cutters." Luxa said, voice slightly wavering. She swallowed, and took another long sip of her drink. Gregor couldn't bear to see her like this. "I think that's enough, Highness." He said, attempting to taking the drink from her. "No!" Luxa ordered, her voice getting suddenly angry. "Give it back!"

Gregor ran over to a sink like mechanism by the bar. Pouring the liquor down the drain, he took notice to three empty glasses.

"Oh, Luxa." He mumbled under his breath. He set the glass down by the others.

"What did you do?" He heard Luxa scream. She pulled out a dagger, and came at him.

 _"Shit!"_ _,_ Gregor thought. He grabbed Luxa's wrist holding the dagger, spun it around and squeezed it, forcibly making her drop the dagger.

Of course, the guards heard the commotion and came in and see Gregor "attacking" their Queen. Gregor scooped up the dagger, shoved Luxa behind him, and fought the guards. One sliced to his head, the other to his legs. Gregor jumped up on the bar and kicked a guard on the side of the head hard enough to indent metal into his head. He also did a number on his foot. One guard left. Gregor felt the rager sense consuming him.

A slash came down from the guard' sword, but it never reached Gregor. He dove between the guard's legs, used the hilt to strike him where it hurts, and ripped one leg out from under him. Within a split second, both guards were down. Gregor regained his senses and, realizing what he just did, checked both pulses. Both were alive.

Gregor returned his eyes to Luxa, who was wide eyed in fear. "W-What did you j-just do?" she asked.

"You really are a lightweight, aren't you, your Highness?" Gregor said. He'd never heard her stutter when sober.

"I am not!" Luxa said, her voice changing pitches. Gregor smiled. Stubborn as ever.

"You are! And since you probably won't remember, I need to tell you something, Highness." Gregor said.

"What is it" Luxa asked, her voice trying to be serious.

"It's me, Luxa." Gregor said. "It's me, Gregor."


	4. Chapter 4

"You are! And since you probably won't remember, I need to tell you something, Highness." Gregor said.

"What is it" Luxa asked, her voice trying to be serious.

"It's me, Luxa." Gregor said. "It's me, Gregor."

Gregor knew what he said was stupid. Everything he had done so far had been along with what Ripred said. Within about half a second, he ruined everything. But he couldn't help it; his defense just melted when he looked at Luxa's face, her silky platinum hair, and her flamboyant violet eyes. After so long, it was all he could do not to kiss her on the spot.

"I know you're drunk," Gregor said, stepping towards her. "And you might not even remember this, but I had to tell someone, Luxa. I just had to!" Luxa just stared at him, dazed, but still somewhat attentive. Gregor surveyed the room. _"_ _So many memories",_ he thought.

Gregor continued to reminisce, savoring every second knowing he was back in the Underland, where he truly felt like he belonged. Finally, his eyes settled upon the guards, crumpled on the ground in grotesque positions. Sighing, Gregor took them one at a time and set them each on a couch. It was slow going; each had full body armor and were pretty bulked up.

When he finished with the guards, Gregor returned to Luxa. " _Luxa_ ," Gregor thought. "What happened while I was gone?"

Sighing yet again, he picked up the love of his life and carried her to her room, softly laying her on the bed. She gave no protest, staring at him in drunken disbelief. Gently, he pulled the sheets over her, and knelt next to her, stroking the hair out of her face. In doing so, he noticed her eyes were closed, and her breathing was slow and serene.

Before he left, Gregor whispered, "I still love you."

Gregor strode down the halls of the palace with his hands in his pockets. He really needed to find a washroom, and fast. His Overland clothes were seriously dirty, and might get him into trouble if the Cutters had a sense of smell like the rats did. However, the reason Gregor really wanted to find a washroom, was because he smelled; so bad, in fact, he could smell himself.

After about ten minutes, Gregor found the washroom he used when he was in the Underland all those years ago. Luckily, there were some open lockers, and Gregor managed to steal some clothes from some unfortunate Regalians.

Quickly getting out of his dingy clothes, he sunk into the water, and after seconds began to feel rejuvenated. After washing his hair until it looked brown again, he dried up and re-dressed himself. Feeling satisfied with how he looked, Gregor chose a bench in the washroom and layed down. "Just for a few minutes." He thought.

Gregor woke up, feeling oddly well. He was certainly out for more than a few minutes. He left the washroom and was walked around the palace, to reacquaint himself with the royal haven. Surely Ripred had taken care of Angelina and Larry. "Surely." Gregor thought, though he could not seem to shake the feeling of uncertainty. The resulting anxiety made him walk a little faster. After about thirty or so minutes of aimlessly wondering around, he heard some familiar voices in an adjacent hallway.

" _Sounds like arguing"_ _._ Gregor thought. He crept along the corridor as silently as he could, restraining his breathing. Edging his head around the corner, Gregor saw that the corridor led to the War Room.

It was abnormally empty, given the inherent possibility of war in the Underland, only about ten people where there. That's not what bothered Gregor, though. It was the owners to those familiar voices. The two that were fighting was Ripred and Luxa!

Becoming completely silent, Gregor listened in on what they were saying. He had to use echolocation a bit to see the complete room. Luxa spoke first.

"How is that possible? I recall no such thing!"

"Well it happened, so get over it!" Ripred retorted.

"No, I will not 'get over it'!" Luxa said, trying to mimic Ripred's raspy voice.

"You advanced my troops without my knowledge! We have no hope of beating the Cutters at Queenshead! They outnumber us thirty to one!"

Ripred turned his back to Luxa, and announced to the few people that were there, "Regalians, your insolent Queen has a point." Luxa smirked.

"However," Ripred said, a grin coming on his face. "You have a trump card." At that point, a familiar face objected.

"Ripred," Mareth said. "You are an excellent fighter, without a doubt one of the best the Underland has ever seen. That said, we cannot afford you fighting minor battles everywhere, nor do we have the time and flier to spare to transport you." Ripred just smiled and laughed. "Mareth, you are right." Ripred began to pace, like he always did when he was thinking strategically.

"I want you all to listen, because if there is one thing I hate, it is repeating myself." Ripred said. Gregor held back a laugh. Some things never change.

"If we were to, perhaps, have me fight, what would be the conditions?" One old bearded Underlander piped up. "The battle would be the most important!" Ripred nodded, ignoring the blatant statement of the obvious.

"Good, Claudius. What else?" The rat asked.

"Well, ideally," Mareth's voice answered once again. "It would be the only battle." At this point Ripred stopped pacing and went over to Mareth. Everyone in the room was confused until Ripred fell to one knee and proclaimed, "Mareth, would you bond with me?" Ripred asked with fake tears in his eyes.

"My other bond," Ripred said, indicating Luxa who was standing cockeyed and rolling her eyes in exasperation. "Is so abusive, and stubborn when it comes to thinking. But you! You get my ideas right off! So please, please bond with me." Mareth was red with awkardness. Behind the corridor, Gregor was howling with laughter in his head, his face was a dark red from holding it in.

"Ripred," Mareth said sheepishly. "Please let us return to strategy."

"That's okay Mareth." Ripred said, standing up and brushing himself off. "I was just kidding. So," he continued. "How could we get the Cutters to invade from once direction?"

This time it was Luxa who spoke up.

"We could seal off the entrance to Queenshead. Then they would be forced to go the other way." Gregor hardly listened to a word she said, as he was too busy looking at her. She was wearing a light purple gown that accentuated her natural form and brought out her stunning eyes. Gregor swallowed hard to get all the drool out of his mouth.

Ripred raised his eyebrows in mock surprise and began to clap, which sounded weird because of his claws. "Finally! Thank you, your highness!" Luxa wasn't done though.

"Then why did you send my troops to Queenshead if we are to seal it off?" Ripred looked at her thoughtfully and just stared. After about two seconds of a standoff, Luxa seemed to understand and pointed her finger at Ripred. "You sent them to seal the entrance!" She said. There was some murmuring amongst the few gathered.

Ripred glared, silencing them. "Yes I did, because I knew once I got you to this conclusion, it would be too late. By all means, hide behind protocol and punish me for saving lives."

Gregor wasn't sure, but he thought he heard Mareth chuckle a bit.

"Before class is dismissed," Ripred continued. "I wanted to correct something." He turned to Mareth. "Dear Mareth, I am not your trump card." The rat got confused looks from everyone in the room.

"What mean you?" Luxa asked. Ripred just smiled and stared.

"Already forgotten the man who humiliated your guards, have you?" Objections erupted across the room, save Luxa and Mareth. Luxa quickly got tired of the chaos and held up a hand, silencing them.

"Ripred, I thought the same thing. He has agreed to join us." A voice rose above the din, "How can we trust a foreigner?"

Just like a bandwagon, the tiny group of officials shot a volley of agreement at the Queen. Ripred was smiling again. The rat seemed to be ecstatic about something, but Gregor couldn't figure out what.

"Let me take that one, highness." Ripred said, restarting his pacing. "You see, comrades, he didn't invade. I invited him." Before there were any more interruptions, Ripred gave a murderous glare.

"In fact, he is right there." Gregor smirked in knowing. Of course, the rat knew he was outside. It was too perfect.

"Come in, don't be shy." Ripred said. Gregor slowly stood up, and walked into the room. To his and everyone else's surprise, Ripred put his arm around the boy.

"This young man defeated an entire squadron of guards, in, hmm, let me think… half a second?" Ripred nodded with his answer. "Sounds right. Also, he knocked his guards without a weapon." Ripred released Gregor, and strode to the center of the War Room, on top of the world.

"Officials of Regalia, I re-introduce you to the legendary Warrior of the prophecies."

Luxa watched Ripred cross to the center of the room. _"_ _What has he done?"_ She asked herself. Ripred was always arrogant, but today, he was especially egotistical.

Time froze for Luxa as she heard what Ripred had said. _"Impossible! It can't be Gregor!_ _"_ She thought adamantly. " _Ripred must be lying"_ _._ The more she thought about it, the more Luxa realized she was wrong. She examined the man said to be Gregor.

Wearing a white long sleeve silk shirt, and tight black pants, Gregor looked older, but just as she imagined.

 _"He has the same hair, the same face, the same eyes."_ Just like Gregor had for her, Luxa was entranced by Gregor's eyes. _"Just like chocolate"_ she reminisced. Coming out of her time lapse, Luxa slowly walked over to Gregor, still not quite believing he was there. The previous night wasn't a drunken dream, then.

Gregor had just finished scanning the room when his eyes landed on her. Luxa felt warmth spread through her as their eyes met, of close friends finally reuniting after five very long years.

"Gregor?" she asked. "Is it really you?" A goofy smile broke in Gregor's face, the one he always wore when he was happy.

"Yeah."

Luxa had just finished walking to Gregor when an unmistakable voice rose up, requesting immediate attention.

"All of you are dismissed! I'm famished!" Ripred whined as he stretched out on the floor. The small assembly quickly left the room.

"Oh, and get a room next time," Ripred chastised. "I won't always be here to save you from an audience." The teens both blushed as Ripred and Mareth laughed.

Luxa felt Gregor take her hand; a feeling which she had fantasized about for years. "Come on, Luxa, we have some catching up to do."


End file.
